Faulty rationale begets faulty Tradition. And that's what
happened here. However sincere, the faulty Witt tradition can be traced back to
"Year Book No. 1," dated 1924, of the Huguenot Society of the Founders
of Manakin in the Colony of Virginia.

THE OLD WITT TRADITION WAS FLAWED IN THREE MAIN AREAS

1.William Witt
d1754 was not the immigrant but son
of John Witt
and wife Ann Daux
; and William Witt was not born in
Southern France
but in Charles City Co., VA (in order to be with his parents).
2.John Witt
was the immigrant and he was
imported as a "headright" (plantation owner paid his way) from
England
, not
France
(per Land Patent records).
3.Five sons attributed to William Witt
d1754 (Lewis
, Charles
, William
, Abner
, and David
) were not his sons but his grandsons.

a. Lewis
& Charles
were sons of Benj. Witt
d1774 of Buckingham Co., VA
b. William
, Abne
r, and David
were sons of John Witt
d1782 of Amherst Co., VA

QUOTING FROM FAULTY RATIONALE IN HUGUENOT BOOK NO. 1

"In 1756, Land Deed of Prince
Edward Co., VA of Benjamin Witt
(son of William
d1754), have as witnesses the names
of his brothers, Charles Witt
and Lewis Witt
."

"And in 1781, Amherst Co., will of
John
Witt
Sr
. (son of
Williamd1754), his brothers
William
Witt Jr
.,
Abner
Witt
, and
David
Wittare witnesses

·The first known entry for William Witt
(d1754) and his brother John Witt
(d ca 1751) was in 1715, when they
bought (jointly) 300 acres (known as Young Men's Adventure) from Charles Hudson
in Henrico Co (that part now Goochland Co). The deed said that the WITT brothers
were from Charles City Co., VA, the county of residence for the immigrant John
Witt & wife Ann Daux
per
Charles
City
County
court records.

·No reason to believe that William Witt
(d1754) and his brother John Witt,
Jr (d before 1751) came from
England
.

·Every reason to believe that they were sons of immigrant John Witt
/Whitt
and Ann Daux
who were married after 1670 in
Charles City Co., VA, per court records. Further, importation of John Witt to
the
Charles
City
County
area supported by Land Patents.

·No documentation to support the old Witt tradition which has been
published in books, such as

1.
Vol. IV, "Compendium of American Genealogy,” by Virkus.
2.
Vol. 2, "
Virginia
Soldiers of 1776,"by Burgess
3.
Year Book No. 1 published in 1924 by The Huguenot Society Founders of Manakin in
the Colony of Virginia.

By tradition, this Richard Witt
/Whitt
was named Richard Oney Witt
. By tradition, he was left on doorstep of William Witt
D1754 of Charles City, Goochland and
Albemarle
counties, VA. There is no documentation or association with William Witt d1754
to support this "adoption" tradition.

Probably not. The claim that the Witts were Huguenots
was first made in print in 1924 by the Huguenot Society of the Founders of
Manakin. No evidence was offered other than the proximity of the brothers
John
and William Witt
to the Huguenot settlement at
Manakin. Manakin was located on the south bank of the
James River
a few miles southwest of the land the Witt brothers bought in 1715. A few
hundred Huguenots settled there in 1700, others elsewhere along the river.
In fact, there are no Witts listed among the Huguenot settlers of that community
(or any other). Nor are any Witts found among any naturalization records
before or after the settlement. While there was a scattering of Huguenots
among the earlier settlers of the area, there is no indication at all that the
Witts were French.

The Huguenot Society created a myth that
William
Witt(whom we believe to be the son of
John
Wittthe immigrant) was known as “
Guillaume
Witt
” and immigrated from
France
to
Virginia
about 1700. In fact, he never lived in a Huguenot settlement, never
appears in any record as French, is never mentioned in the Huguenot parish
records, and signed his own name “William Witt”. Some third-generation
Witt children did indeed marry children of Huguenots, but this fact is more
easily explained by the assimilation of Huguenot descendants into the local
population. It is worth noting that the early Huguenot Society
publications did not mention any of the Witt records of Henrico and
Charles
City
County
, thus apparently were based on the assumption that the Witts arrived in
Virginia
about 1700.

King William Parish, a French-speaking parish established
for the benefit of the Huguenots, was established within St. James Parish.
Its vestry book records births, deaths and other information for the Huguenot
families in the area of Manakin, including those not resident within the Manakin
settlement. No Witt appears at all in those records during the first
thirty years, except for a notation of the birth of a child to Benjamin Witt
, who had married a Huguenot wife. Later tithables do include John Witt
III for the brief period in which he lived in the southern reaches of the
parish, but so are several other non-Huguenots. The parish, which had no
fixed boundaries, expanded its geography over the years as its French members
expanded outward from the original settlement, thus encompassing several
non-Huguenot residents.

Nonetheless, the Huguenot Society persists to this day in
listing “Jean
” and “Guillaume” Witt
among the “authenticated
founders” of the Manakin settlement.

The later discovery of the marriage of John Witt
and Ann Daux
seemed to some researchers to
support the French connection. As noted elsewhere, the Daux probably were
English as well. I might note that until 1680, immigrants not born
in
Virginia
or
England
required an act of the House of Burgesses to become citizens. Unless
naturalized, a foreign-born settler could not own land. These acts listing
naturalizations are perfectly preserved, and no Witt appears in them.
After 1680, the governor himself could bestow citizenship, and those records are
mostly lost (though the declaration naturalizing the Manakin settlers does
exist). Thus, assuming that the brothers John and William Witt
were children of the immigrant John
Witt, it seems quite likely that they were English. The name “Witt” in
various forms is found among many 17th century English records.
It is, of course, possible that these Witts were Huguenots who had immigrated to
England
a generation or two earlier – though this seems unlikely[ii].

The
Harbours came to this country in the early 1700's from
Wales
.They came by way of
Charles
County
,
Virginia
to
Lee
County
.They settled on land lying on the
Mayo
River
near the state line in Lunenburg Co., (now Patrick Co.)
Virginia
.